Capt. Mathew L. Golsteyn is congratulated by fellow soldiers after receiving the Silver Star for heroism in Afghanistan on Jan. 4, 2011. (The Fayetteville Observer/James Robinson)

There is absolutely no way to determine how many lives his split decision action saved.

It’s time that those who deemed it appropriate to strip him of the Silver Star which was upgraded to the Distinguish Service Cross, spend a few months in an active theater of operation.

The Silver Star Medal is the United States’ THIRD HIGHEST award exclusively for combat valor, and ranks fifth in the precedence of military awards behind the Medal of Honor, the Crosses (DSC/NC/AFC), the Defense Distinguished Service Medal (awarded by DOD), and the Distinguished Service Medals of the various branches of service.

It is the highest award for combat valor that is NOT unique to any specific branch; it has been bestowed by the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, Coast Guard, and Merchant Marines. It may be given by any one of the individual services to not only their own members, but to members of other branches of service, foreign allies, and even to civilians for “gallantry in action” in support of combat missions of the United States military.

The Distinguished Service Cross was established by order of President Woodrow Wilson and was born as part of the new Pyramid Of Honor that was established during the 1917 review of Medal of Honor awards. Prior to establishment of the D.S.C. by virtue of War Department General Orders Number 6 of January 12, 1918, and by Act of Congress on July 9, 1918 the Medal of Honor was the only American award for valor in combat available to American servicemen.

The secretary of the Army is defending his decision to strip awards for heroism from a former Green Beret officer, saying the soldier demonstrated a “lack of honorable conduct” after he earned the medals.

Maj. Mathew L. Golsteyn received the Silver Star in 2011 for valor in Afghanistan on Feb. 20, 2010, and was later approved for an upgrade to the even more prestigious Distinguished Service Cross. That award is considered second only to the Medal of Honor in recognizing heroism in combat.

Golsteyn was later investigated for an undisclosed violation of the military’s rules of engagement in combat — a violation related to the killing of a known enemy bombmaker, according to officials familiar with the case. The investigation closed in 2014 without Golsteyn’s being charged with a crime, but Army Secretary John M. McHugh made the rare decision to strip him of both awards anyway.

The move has been scrutinized by the media and criticized by Rep. Duncan D. Hunter (R-Calif.), a Marine veteran who has advocated on Golsteyn’s behalf. But McHugh stood by his decision in a new letter to Hunter, saying that the senior officer who initially approved Golsteyn’s Silver Star, Gen. David M. Rodriguez, agreed with his decision.

“Every step in the process of investigating Major Golsteyn’s actions, and reviewing and subsequently revoking his valor awards has been thorough, objective and justified,” McHugh wrote in the Feb. 26 letter, obtained by The Washington Post. “The Army’s investigation demonstrated that Major Golsteyn’s service during or at the time of the distinguished act, achievement or meritorious service was not honorable, which led to the revocation of the Distinguished Service Cross.”

So, this hero is being stripped of his awards for killing an ENEMY BOMB MAKER? By killing this scumbag he saved countless lives! This is completely insane!

Think of a mistake that we made in international affairs. At the time that we were making it, a phalanx of foreign policy experts was standing behind it. It might be a lonely orphan idea today, but last year you could have thrown a rock at a roomful of PhD’s without hitting a single person who disagreed with it.

When the Tahrir Square protests in Egypt were in their heyday, I had trouble finding any foreign policy people who would even entertain the idea that we should continue backing Mubarak. Back then the revolution seemed inevitable. But I correctly predicted Islamist takeovers and counter-revolution that would topple them because I didn’t see international relations through the lens of a grand theory.

Scott Walker’s claim that foreign policy is about leadership, not expertise, is being mocked now by media types who were relentlessly regurgitating all the expert truisms about the Arab Spring. But he’s right. Foreign policy expertise does not translate into foreign affairs competence. Leadership does.

Just ask John Kerry who has been flailing away at foreign policy for decades with all the ineptness of a drunken windsurfer in a tsunami. And no matter how many times he got it wrong, he remains convinced that this time is when he’ll get it right.

Foreign policy expertise usually means someone’s secondhand pet theory and a network of contacts. The difference between war and diplomacy is that while a battle plan doesn’t survive first contact with the enemy, a theory of international relations lingers on no matter how many good people it kills.

Most of the bad ideas that were around before Chamberlain brought back “Peace in Our Time” from a bad painter named Adolf are still haunting the halls of universities and government buildings. Obama’s foreign policy renamed those same bad ideas “Smart Power” while auditioning everyone from Vladimir Putin to the Caliph of the Islamic State to fill in for Adolf.

International relations is the only theory driven policy field more overrated than economics. And it’s hard to say which bunch of bad theories has done more damage to America.

Foreign policy leadership requires being able to read people and to translate national interests into international objectives. This is a skill set that any competent manager has. The two most common mistakes made in international relations are first, a dependence on grand theory over practical goals, and second, the false assumption that the other side shares your values and priorities.

The bone chilling account below will appear in the March issue of Atlantic Magazine.

It’s clearly time to begin a serious effort, not like the one being led by Obama to eradicate Muslim Jihadists and those who favor Sharia law from the face of the earth.

Members of the Islamic State have been using lies, deceit among other tricks of the trade which have been uncovered in the extensive read below. Enjoy !

ISIS, ISIL or The Islamic State will not have its dreams full filled without causing WW III or IV as I consider they last 10 years an undeclared WW III

Control of territory is an essential precondition for the Islamic State’s authority in the eyes of its supporters.

This map, adapted from the work of the Institute for the Study of War, shows the territory under the caliphate’s control as of January 15, along with areas it has attacked. Where it holds power, the state collects taxes, regulates prices, operates courts, and administers services ranging from health care and education to telecommunications.

The Islamic State is no mere collection of psychopaths. It is a religious group with carefully considered beliefs, among them that it is a key agent of the coming apocalypse. Here’s what that means for its strategy—and for how to stop it.

The Institute for the Study of War

The Atlantic, March issue. Graeme WoodMarch 2015

What is the Islamic State?

Where did it come from, and what are its intentions? The simplicity of these questions can be deceiving, and few Western leaders seem to know the answers. In December, The New York Times published confidential comments by Major General Michael K. Nagata, the Special Operations commander for the United States in the Middle East, admitting that he had hardly begun figuring out the Islamic State’s appeal.“We have not defeated the idea,” he said.

“We do not even understand the idea.” In the past year, President Obama has referred to the Islamic State, variously, as “not Islamic” and as al-Qaeda’s “jayvee team,” statements that reflected confusion about the group, and may have contributed to significant strategic errors.

The group seized Mosul, Iraq, last June, and already rules an area larger than the United Kingdom. Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has been its leader since May 2010, but until last summer, his most recent known appearance on film was a grainy mug shot from a stay in U.S. captivity at Camp Bucca during the occupation of Iraq.

Then, on July 5 of last year, he stepped into the pulpit of the Great Mosque of al-Nuri in Mosul, to deliver a Ramadan sermon as the first caliph in generations—upgrading his resolution from grainy to high-definition, and his position from hunted guerrilla to commander of all Muslims. The inflow of jihadists that followed, from around the world, was unprecedented in its pace and volume, and is continuing.

Our ignorance of the Islamic State is in some ways understandable: It is a hermit kingdom; few have gone there and returned. Baghdadi has spoken on camera only once. But his address, and the Islamic State’s countless other propaganda videos and encyclicals, are online, and the caliphate’s supporters have toiled mightily to make their project knowable. We can gather that their state rejects peace as a matter of principle; that it hungers for genocide; that its religious views make it constitutionally incapable of certain types of change, even if that change might ensure its survival; and that it considers itself a harbinger of—and headline player in—the imminent end of the world.

The U.S. media would have us believe that those who fight for ISIL or the Islamic State do so because they are poor.

Until Turkey’s President, Edrogen, decides if he want’s to support Islamic Terrorism or fight it, Turkey must be put on suspension from our allies in NATO.

Do the women below look poor to you? They have been brainwashed by their imam’s during services at radical mosques, largely funded by our “Friends, the Saudis.”

Three missing London schoolgirls ‘traveled’ to Syria to join Isil’Metropolitan Police ‘extremely concerned’ about three teenage girls from east London school believed to be attempting to travel to Syria via Turkey

The girls, all pupils at Bethnal Green Academy in east London, on CCTV at Gatwick AirportPhoto: Met Police

Police are appealing for help to find three schoolgirls who have gone missing and are thought to have travelled to Turkey with the intention of crossing the border into Syria.

Parents plea to their daughters to return home below. Good luck with that one !

They are Shamima Begum, 15, who could be using the name Acklina Begum, and 16-year-old Kadiza Sultana. The third girl, 15, is not being named at the request of her family, Scotland Yard said.

Police fear the girls, all pupils at the Bethnal Green Academy, in east London, might be heading to join terror group Isil – Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, also known as Islamic State.

They travelled from their homes on Tuesday, February 17 and boarded a Turkish Airlines flight to Istanbul.

Shamima Begum at the airport

Commander Richard Walton, of Scotland Yard’s counter terrorism unit, described the girls as “straight A students” and “normal girls”.

He added: “If we are able to locate these girls while they are in Turkey, there is a possibility we can bring them home to their families.”

Police said the girls were all close friends with a 15-year-old travelled to Syria in December.

The girls left their homes before 8am, giving their families plausible reasons as to why they would be out for the day, police said.

Instead they met and travelled to Gatwick airport. They boarded a Turkish Airlines flight, TK1966, which left for Istanbul, in Turkey, at 12.40pm.

Kadiza Sultana at Gatwick airport

Mr Walton said: “We are extremely concerned for the safety of these young girls and would urge anyone with information to come forward and speak to police.

“Our priority is the safe return of these girls to their families.

“We are reaching out to the girls using the Turkish media and social media in the hope that Shamima, Kadiza and their friend hear our messages, hear our concerns for their safety and have the courage to return now, back to their families who are so worried about them.”

He added: “We are concerned about the numbers of girls and young women who have or are intending to travel to the part of Syria that is controlled by the terrorist group calling themselves Islamic State.

“It is an extremely dangerous place and we have seen reports of what life is like for them and how restricted their lives become. It is not uncommon for girls or women to be prevented from being allowed out of their houses or if allowed out, only when accompanied by a guardian.

“The choice of returning home from Syria is often taken away from those under the control of Islamic State, leaving their families in the UK devastated and with very few options to secure their safe return.

“If we are able to locate these girls whilst they are still in Turkey, we have a good possibility of being able to bring them home to their families.”

A mass prison break was carried out in Nova Mutum public jail in central Brazil, after three women visiting the facility were able to seduce and drug several of the prison guards.

Three women dressed in dominatrix consumes arrived to the facility around 3 a.m. on Thursday and were able to convince the guards to let them come inside the jail to “chat and drink.”

“The plan was to seduce them. They served them cheap whisky with some substance to knock them out, then unlocked the central gate which accesses the internal cells. Whoever wanted to escape left by the front door,” Police Chief Angelina de Andrades Ferreira said. “From the moment they drank the whisky the agents don’t remember a thing. One was found dizzy, trying to wake up. Another slept for the whole afternoon and couldn’t even be questioned.”

As repeated often at this site, Obama loathes the Military likely because they don’t like him and would unlikely carry out unconstitutional orders to round up and attack U.S. Citizens.Simply stated, Obama likely only thinks about the military when a photo-op is involved.

President Obama’s most recent 2016 budget proposal allowing more options for veterans to be seen outside the Veterans Affairs system will be rolled back, taking their choice from them.

In August of last year, Obama signed into law the Veterans Choice Program granting additional benefits to veterans. These additional benefits would allow veterans much more flexibility in handling their health care needs and faster access to care outside of the long waiting lists that have plagued the VA.

According to the Washington Examiner, however, Obama is going back on the promises made to our veterans.

On Monday, Obama declared his intention to send a legislative proposal to Congress allowing the siphoning of the $10 billion in the program’s funding. This was done after Obama said the money “is needed to support essential investments in VA system priorities in a fiscally responsible, budget-neutral manner.”

“That money was specifically allocated by him [Obama] for the choice program,” stated the legislative director for Concerned Veterans for America, Dan Coldwell. “What that would do is cause the choice program to be a lot shorter and to inevitably serve fewer veterans.”

The VA’s chief financial officer, Helen Tierney, is defending this siphon stating that “What we are getting…is that they are looking for more care within the VA system.”

But, wasn’t the whole point to give the veterans more of a CHOICE?

This new mandate not only keeps the VA system supplied with a continued built-in clientele but it also lines it up with deep pockets for awhile.

VA officials are defending the move saying the ‘choice program’ was being utilized and that veterans expressed their desire to receive care at VA facilities.

Veterans groups are saying something completely different stating that the program was full of ‘red tape’ and difficult to use. Even the Choice Card itself was a problem for veterans who after receiving it would have to call in to the VA and check if they were even eligible to use it.

Jeff Miller, House Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman, stated, “The president’s idea to reallocate a portion of Veterans Choice Program funding to other areas of VA is a complete non-starter, which I will not support. When a near-unanimous Congress worked with President Obama last year to create the choice program, we made a promise to veterans to give them more freedom in their healthcare decisions. I will not stand idly by while the president attempts to renege on that promise.”

The president made promises to our veterans. He promised to give them a choice in their healthcare decisions. How can you take this small freedom from the very men and women who defend YOUR freedoms, Mr. President?

Obama appears to think this is funny with his comment below;” “I don’t know whether it’s the 55th or the 60th time that they are taking this vote,” Mr. Obama said of the House.

Neither will Obama!

“But I’ve asked this question before: Why is it that this would be at the top of their agenda, making sure that folks who don’t have health care aren’t able to get it?”

It’s simple Toby, your health care rationing and denial program is neither affordable and it is indeed far to expensive.

The answer is clear we have a 5 ton gorilla sitting in the White House and a real gorilla would be far smarter.

This is of course dependent upon the Senate following suit, with eventual jumping ship of house and senate members facing election in 2016.

As soon as the gorilla is gone the party’s over for Obama’s must stunning failure.

The Washington Time

By Tom Howell Jr.

February 4, 2015

(AP Photo/Molly Riley)

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. addresses the media with from left, Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., and Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn of Texas in the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, February 3, 2015.

Republicans newly in charge of Congress challenged President Barack Obama at both ends of the Capitol on Tuesday, lining up in the House to repeal the health care program he signed into law and struggling in the Senate to roll back the immigration policies he issued on his own. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. addresses the media with from left, Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., and Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn of Texas in the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Tuesday.

The House voted largely along party lines Tuesday to repeal and replace Obamacare, with Republicans vowing to satisfy midterm voters who demanded a new path forward while Democrats taunted their rivals as oblivious to the plight of the uninsured.

The 239-186 vote marked the Republican-majority Congress’ first swipe at the entire health law, cuing up a likely filibuster from Senate Democrats before President Obama can wield his veto pen.

Here’s the ugly truth about blood pressure medication your doctor will never tell you. Unique Method Regrows Lost Hair (Do This Daily) Shocking! Important Information That Could Be Affecting Our Food Supply

While no Democrats defected from the party line, three Republicans voted against repeal — freshmen Reps. John Katko of New York and Bruce Poliquin of Maine, and Rep. Robert Dold of Illinois, who regained his seat after losing it in 2012.

While it will not become law, the measure was designed to let new Republicans to record their opposition to Obamacare and make good on the GOP’s campaign promise to go after the law and replace it.

“We are doing it because the American people have said, ‘We are tired of this.’ It is damaging health care,” Rep. Marsha Blackburn, Tennessee Republican, said.